1 [@dodger//video]

[smokedout]

Getting pretty crowded on floor 4... damn.

[This is the first time a lot of people have seen Dodger - he tends to stick to audio-only responses, and doesn't spend too much time on the network in the first place. But he is a man dictated mostly by impulse, and impulse says that he may as well do a video. Maybe people will be more open with a face to put to his name. Even if it's as scarred-up and creepy as his.

Dodger's room is currently lit only by the desk lamp he's sitting next to, and jars full of fireflies hung by strings and tacks from the walls ( much like fairy lights). They're segregated by color, and one would guess they've been there a while from how they wander complacently along the glass. If one squints, they may be able to see all the beer bottles on his floor - he's generally tidy, but apparently not when it comes to his drinking habit.]

Figure I should get to know a few more people, since this dorm place is filling up and the damn crying festival is winding down. Name's Dodger, I'm a mechanic, I collect bugs. Not in general, just got a liking for these little freaks - I'll pay a dollar per bug if anyone feels like finding me a few more. Anyone who wants to step up and tell me what kinda job and hobbies you got, start some sorta friendly exchange... I could use the company.

And get your 'dodger' jokes out of the way before you reply. Artful, jammy, baseball, all that shit - don't wanna hear it.

Comments

video, @a.parrish

[antietam]

[ Well, if this is for introductions he might as well be polite and respond with video. Even if he looks kind of awkward about it. ]

Oh, hey. Haven't had a chance to introduce myself, but I'm Adam Parrish. I just started at Breaking and Centering part-time, so I guess we'll see each other from time to time?

[ After a pause: ] You really think each firefly is worth a dollar? [ Unit, whatever. Dollar is easiest. ]

[smokedout]

Sure.

[He hasn't spoken much at all to his other co-workers, so he wouldn't be surprised if Adam had been working there a while without his notice.]

You're new here, huh. [He shrugs.] If I'm gonna get anyone going after them, I gotta pay for the effort of getting them - they're nasty little fuckers, the blue ones can make a grown man cry just from biting him.

un: promptastic

[imprompto]

[ Ok, ew bugs, but mechanics yay! ]

What kind of wheels you work on?

[smokedout]

I grew up around motorcycles, they're my main thing - but I'm not gonna say no to taking a crack at a car or... whatever else can come through the portal.

[There's so much variety in vehicles here he can't exactly limit himself to things he strictly knows what he's doing with. At least not if he expects to make any money out of his job.]

What'cha got to work with?

[antietam]

Really? [ He does seem a little more interested. Whether it's for the money or the effect, who knows. ]

Are you gonna study how they do that?

[smokedout]

[He shrugs.] If we're being honest I know fuck-all about bugs, but yeah, I'm trying to study them. If I can figure out how to keep them happy enough to breed I'll be aces, but I can't get them to eat.

[He's got a few theories, but nothing solid... at least not yet.]

Don't suppose you know anything helpful.

[antietam]

About fireflies? Sure. Savage alien fireflies? My knowledge might not be so useful. [ But he looks like he's thinking about it. After a moment: ]

I'd say the colors are caused by whatever reaction luciferin has with some sort of chemical that's being introduced to the mix with oxygen. My guess if I saw these back on earth? Some kind of genetic experiment. Luciferin is used to test certain kinds of proteins, hormones, and drugs in blood samples, so maybe this is a reverse case. It's reacting to a drug that's being injected into the blood stream.

[ He actually looks more excited after that. ] If you narrowed down the kind of drugs or hormones that might cause those emotional responses, you could introduce them to luciferin in a lab to create the same type of reaction. But, you know, that could all be pointless if these alien fireflies are completely biologically different.

[smokedout]

[He wasn't expecting to get much out of it, but... damn. Wow. Dodger knows exactly nothing about science, so he just sort of has to assume the guy knows what he's talking about.]

So uh. You're some kinda biology nerd, huh. [Dodger's never had a formal education, nor has he ever pursued the interest, so his knowledge on the subject is lacking at best.] I'm running on the assumption they're some kinda alien lifeform - they've been cooped up in those jars for a few weeks without eating, most bugs don't last more than a day or two like that.

But hey, I won't stop you if you wanna study a couple of them yourself. Anything I can learn about 'em is worth something. [Maybe not money if he can avoid it, but something.]

[imprompto]

Nothing here. Our transportation's back home, all alone and unused.

[ And he sorely misses it. Riding around in the Regalia like he's hot shit would have been a wonderful past-time. ]

[smokedout]

Well, if you gimme a basic idea I might be able to replicate it. Won't be as pretty, but the quarantine's got some crazy tech to play with. And I wouldn't mind a pet project.

[He's modest, at least where purely legal work is concerned, but he's a perfectionist at heart. He won't hand the thing over until he's completely satisfied that it can't be improved further.]

[imprompto]

Really? [ He folds his scrawny arms over his chest, knowing full well what comes next. ] How much would something like that run?

[ Prompto's too new to have hardly anything saved up, but an estimate wouldn't hurt. It would be nice to have his own set of wheels and rub it in Gladio's face. ]

[smokedout]

Depends on what you're asking for - a decent ride can get into the hundred-thousands back home, but half the effort's gone here and I'm not big on asking more than the work I do. So let's say once I got a good idea of the materials I need and how long it'll take me, I can tell you a price.

So - how many wheels has this thing got, what kind of engine, how fast do you wanna go and what kinda control scheme do you like. To start us out. [A small pause.] Might take longer if it uses some sorta magical bullshit power source - have to figure out that shit before I do anything else.

[antietam]

Well, I'm best with physics and biology. It helps. [ He shrugs, looking somewhat flustered. He can't just geek out at people he doesn't know. ]

I'm not really a scientist, I've only just started looking into engineering and science classes at the university to get a sense of what we're dealing with here. I don't think I could make any important observations, but I won't say no to a closer look.

I'll even do some bug-catching for free if you join me.

[smokedout]

Uh-huh. [He gives a vague shrug.] Sounds like you've already got a better idea of what we're doing than I do, so sure. We can catch a few bugs, swap a few notes, see if we can get any closer to figuring out how to make 'em happy.

Just gotta suggest we hurry, fuck knows when they'll run out of energy and I wanna make sure they're fed and bred before then.

[imprompto]

Okay, definitely doable. I'll write up the specs and shoot it over to ya!

[antietam]

Well, I don't have any plans tonight. I'll see if I can find some jars... [ He glances off. He's just going to keep stealing things from his roommates, apparently. ]

I'd be interested to know when they die, too. If they can't eat anything on this planet, it'd tell us something. [ A pause. ] Do you think the offspring would, uh, amplify the emotional reactions?

[smokedout]

Either they can't eat anything here, or they're all fuckin' kinds of fussy.

[He's been playing with them for this long, though, he may as well keep going until they're all dead.]

....Didn't think about that side of things. I guess either the larvae wouldn't have their venom sorted yet, or it'd be way more powerful than the adults. [In which case the adults would only have to be kept for breeding, if he can figure out how to extract the venom from the larvae.]

[antietam]

Especially if you, say, bred ones of different colors together. [ The scientist part of him wants this, but.

Jokingly: ] You could be quite the threat, mister.

[smokedout]

Now we're talking.

[The threat comment gets a genuine laugh out of him. Yes, of all the things Dodger's done in his life, breeding Fangirl Feels fireflies will be his magnum opus.]

'Mister' makes me sound old, it's just Dodger. Anyway, we can try cross-breeding them if you want, but I'm pretty sure any combination would be enough to break someone if they weren't careful. And we'd have to handle them in swarms.

[antietam]

[ To risk it in the name of science? Why not. ] We can be careful. Even test them on mice if we need to.

I don't even think we need to be worried about them getting into the wrong hands considering most of the people here could blow us up if they wanted to, anyway.

[smokedout]

[Sweet innocent Adam doesn't know that Dodger is the wrong hands for them to be in.]

Testing on non-sentients would be a pain, they can't describe what they're feeling. I bet we could get a few willing test subjects if we tried. [Or non-willing but unable to defend themselves, that works too.] Anyway, first thing's first - we need some new bugs and a way to feed them.

...Might be onto something with color-matching them to food, they'll land on things that match their glow. I guess I gotta figure out what flavor they're after.

[antietam]

[ He looks a little surprised. His first thought had been to test on people, but he thought that would be unpopular for Moral Reasons. Apparently Dodger is a good match for this crazy science team. ]

Could be camouflage, but I don't suppose you've noticed any natural predators for them? Other than people swatting at them. [ He makes a humming noise. ] Why would they bite people if they're not getting anything out of it?

[smokedout]

[Morality is so far down on the list of things important to Dodger - especially when it comes to his crazy version of science.]

Far as I can tell they're not native to this world, they don't seem to congregate anywhere specific or look for anything when they're loose. [He thinks it over a moment.] Might be a wasp thing - just attacking anything they might think is a threat.

[antietam]

[ Adam shifts away from the camera, going off-screen and returning with a notepad and pen. He's scribbling down these notes. ]

You'd think they'd swarm then. But I guess that's the most reasonable explanation. Do you know what happens if you get bitten by more than one?

[smokedout]

Seen a few swarms, but if they don't have a home base they also don't have a leader. Their whole system's fucked up.

[He hesitates on the second question.]

If you get bitten by two, the effects stack. Blue and yellow together, you get anxious and sad. Two blues in a row, you get twice as sad. Thus why I don't wanna fuck with them more than I have to.